James McClean says Republic of Ireland criticism is 'out of order'

Republic of Ireland midfielder James McClean says his side have been unfairly criticised following their World Cup play-off defeat to Denmark.

Tottenham's Christian Eriksen scored a hat-trick as Denmark came from behind to record a resounding 5-1 win over Martin O'Neill's side in Dublin on Tuesday night, despite Shane Duffy's early opener for the hosts.

O'Neill and his players came under heavy criticism from fans and pundits after the defeat, despite a qualification campaign which saw them finish second ahead of Wales and Austria.

McClean admits Tuesday night's performance was "simply not good enough" but has refused to accept "over the top" comments.

He wrote on Instagram: "Last night is going to hurt deep for a long long time, nothing can change or make what happened last night right, of course everyone is entitled to voice their opinion because it was simply not good enough from us on the night, we know that ourselves.

"But to stick the boot in and kick players and staff when they are down (players and staff [who] have been great servants to this country, players and staff that have qualified for a major tournament and was unlucky to be knocked out to a great team in the last 16, players and staff that were a game from making it to a World Cup, players and staff that would give anything for this great country!) with some over the top beyond football comments is bang out of order, hurting or not.

"And trust me when I say this we hurt every bit as much as you do. I am proud and honoured to be an Irish man and to call every one of these men fellow countrymen and team-mates! Like a said this will hurt deep, we have been written off so many times before and just like before we will bounce back!"

Source = http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12020/11127597/james-mcclean-says-republic-of-ireland-criticism-is-out-of-order

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Marouane Fellaini's future in doubt amid Manchester United talks

Manchester United are facing an uphill struggle to keep Marouane Fellaini at the club.

United have been locked in contract talks with the Belgian since last season with Jose Mourinho determined to keep Fellaini in his squad.

Fellaini, who turns 30 next week, was offered a new contract in September but rejected the deal.

United remain hopeful that they can still reach an agreement with him.

Fellaini's current contract expires at the end of the season and potentially he could sign a pre-contract agreement with another side in January.

It is understood Manchester United will not look to sell Fellaini in the next transfer window, regardless of his contract situation, and are willing to risk him leaving in the summer for nothing.

Source = http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11127384/marouane-fellainis-future-in-doubt-amid-manchester-united-talks

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Tyrrell Hatton: Small chance of Race to Dubai victory

Tyrrell Hatton hasn’t given up hope of making a late challenge for Race to Dubai victory after moving in to contention at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Hatton requires at least a top-three finish in South Africa to head to next week's DP World Tour Championship still with a mathematical chance of ending the season as European No 1.

The Englishman - fifth in the standings - posted a two-under 70 in breezy conditions at Gary Player CC to stay in touch with midway pacesetter Victor Dubuisson and keep his hopes alive of a third win of the season.

"This week is going to be the biggest challenge for me," Hatton said. "I sort of struggled here last year, and I think mentally, you have to be quite strong around here.

"Obviously I do struggle with that sometimes, but if I can get through that this week, I'm pretty confident of having a good week next week."I'm a long way behind, but if I can have a great weekend and then have a really good week next week then I've potentially got a really small chance.

"It [Race to Dubai victory] is not something I'm thinking about. I'm just trying to play as well as I can and get as many World Ranking points as I can."

Hatton is joined in the group on three under by Ross Fisher, who requires victories in both of the season-ending events to have a chance to overtake Justin Rose at the top of the standings.

"That's probably one of the toughest rounds around this place I've played since I've played here," Fisher said after his one-under 71. "Today was breezy but it was tricky because it wasn't consistent.

"You look at the scores, and there are not too many low scores. I just needed to stay patient, as the game is in good shape.

"There's some holes out there where if you make pars, you're going to be picking shots up, especially holes like 11 and 13, and even 18. To come out and come away with 71, I'm very pleased with that."

Watch the Nedbank Golf Challenge throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Saturday from 8am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event.

Source = http://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/11121006/tyrrell-hatton-small-chance-of-race-to-dubai-victory

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Victor Dubuisson opens two-shot lead at Nedbank Golf Challenge

Victor Dubuisson fired a two-under 70 to open up a two-stroke lead at the halfway stage of a weather-affected Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

Dubuisson, 73rd in the Race to Dubai standings, mixed four birdies with two bogeys in tricky conditions at Gary Player CC, where play was halted for two and a half hours due to thunderstorms.

Lee Westwood and Darren Fichardt sit in a share of second on four under, with defending champion Alex Noren part of the group three off the pace.

Overnight leader Bernd Wiesberger slipped down the leaderboard with a bogey-filled 77, while Tommy Fleetwood - who can secure Race to Dubai victory with a win this week - lies tied-37th after a two-over 74.

Scott Jamieson birdied the first to briefly move tied for the lead but bogeyed his next two holes, as Dubuisson capitalised on Wiesberger double-bogeying the fourth by holing a 15-footer to grab the advantage.

Wiesberger slipped further down the leaderboard with back-to-back bogeys from the fifth, allowing Dubuisson to double his lead with a long-range birdie at the sixth.

The Frenchman moved three clear after birdieing the 10th but missed from 10 feet to save par at the next, with Jamieson closing the gap to one after beginning his back nine with successive gains.

Westwood birdied the 14th and 16th to also get within one but bogeyed the next, while Jamieson dropped a shot at the par-five 14th to restore Dubuisson's two-shot cushion.

Dubuisson rolled in from five feet at the 15th to go three ahead just before play was halted at 3.22pm local time (5.22pm GMT), but bogeyed the last after missing the green with his approach.

Tyrrell Hatton and Ross Fisher, both still with a mathematical chance of Race to Dubai victory, are joined on three under by Jamieson and Noren, who closed his level-par 72 with a tap-in birdie.

One-time joint-leader Shane Lowry was five under for his first 10 holes but triple-bogeyed the 14th on his way to slipping back to one under, while Fleetwood heads in to the weekend 10 shots adrift.

Source = http://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/11120939/victor-dubuisson-opens-two-shot-lead-at-nedbank-golf-challenge

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Marquez' 2017 crash record: down 25 times and not out

 Pushing to the limits - and finding them - is the reigning Champion's MO. That hasn't changed, from premier class rookie to 2017 challenger

Going into the season finale, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) holds a 21-point advantage over Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) in the standings, with the rider from Cervera chasing his sixth World Championship and fourth in MotoGP™. It’s a stunning rate of success already for the number 93, but it hasn’t come easy – with Marquez one of the most prolific crashers on the grid. This season, the Championship leader has taken a tumble 25 times so far - the most of any non-rookie.

In 2013, when Marquez himself was a rookie, he fell 15 times. Getting to grips with the premier class and testing the limits, the number 93 nevertheless only suffered one crash out of contention in a race.

That was at Mugello, and it came after a weekend filled with incidents – including one of the most hair-raising crashes in recent times, from which the eventual Champion incredibly escaped unharmed.

2014 again saw Marquez take the crown, beginning the year with his incredible run of ten wins in a row. That’s also the season in which the Repsol Honda rider has crashed the least so far, with only 11 incidents throughout the year. With such a big points gap, the pressure was off by the time he suffered his first crash in a race, at Misano, and even more so once the title was wrapped up at Motegi – leaving Marquez pushing to the limit at Phillip Island to try and make as big a gap as possible. It wasn’t to be, but the reigning Champion was pragmatic: “It’s better that this happened now, so that I gain experience for next year.”

Next year being 2015, when Marquez wholly avoided the same mistake at Phillip Island, winning the stunning Island Battle. But there were a number of DNFs beforehand that saw him dent his title hopes, including a crash at Catalunya and another when trying to stay with leader Jorge Lorenzo at Aragon. Although the Repsol Honda rider only crashed two more times during the season, more incidents happened in races, rather than in practice.

After losing out on the crown the year before, 2016 saw Marquez on a mission to take back the throne. He crashed 17 times, but crucially only one of those came in a race before he wrapped up the title. That was at Le Mans, and it was a mistake mirrored by his title challenger this season - Andrea Dovizioso. Or more, the two were perfectly in sync…

2017 has seen Marquez back in full attack mode, and the crash statistics are his highest yet: 25 for the year so far. The first in a race was in Argentina, before another at Le Mans. The reigning Champion then finished every race up until Silverstone, where he suffered another DNF but this time a mechanical. Although not consisting of crashes alone, if Marquez wins the crown it will be the first time since 1998 that a rider has done so with three or more DNFs.

It’s also the season that has seen Marquez pull off what may be his most impressive save yet – somehow staying upright in this stunner at Sepang.



On his approach and the amount he crashes, Marquez gave one of his quotes of the year following the San Marino GP, succintly standing his ground:

    “I crash because I am pushing. I give 100% from FP1 until the race, and try to do my best. This is my style, and it’s given me five World Championships.”

With a 21-point lead, that may be six at Valencia – so tune in to see if Marquez can take the crown on Sunday 12th November.

Source = http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2017/11/02/marquez-2017-crash-record-down-25-times-and-not-out/245164

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The ‘Doctor’ and teammate Maverick Viñales debrief a difficult Malaysian GP

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP duo Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales had a more difficult Sunday at Sepang after the weather changed just ahead of the race, with the M1 a tougher prospect in the wet as they work on some issues that have plagued the squad this season.

“We were a bit unlucky with the weather,” said Rossi, “because I think in the dry we could have been competitive. We needed a good race because we arrived from a podium at Phillip Island and it’s good to try to stay at the top.” After topping FP3 in the dry and heading the second row of the grid, the race saw the rider from Tavullia only able to fight to seventh - finding most of the going tough: “Unfortunately today we were not strong enough on this bike in the wet, we had a lot of problems. I was struggling and slow for three quarters of the race. We need to understand it and try to improve.”

Viñales had a similar struggle in the rain, and crossed the line in ninth after dropping out of the points at one point. The Spaniard believed his wet weather woes to have been solved in Warm Up at Phillip Island and backed that up with good pace in FP2 at Sepang but come race day, it was a different story. “I was thinking in the wet we made a big step in Phillip Island, and here in FP2 we were third. Every lap was good,” shrugged the rider from Roses. “But in the race it as a totally different feeling, losing the rear at every corner and it was hard to get a rhythm or confidence.”

The pace on race day for many was different to that of FP2, and Viñales says he’ll focus more on the result in Warm Up in Australia and his feeling on Friday afternoon. Then, it’s on to Valencia: “I have to keep FP2 in mind and not think to much about the race. We know it was a problem but we know we were fast in practice, and in Valencia we have a good opportunity. It’s a track I like and somewhere I’ve always been fast.”

That fires up mid-November as Viñales returns to the venue at which he first rode the M1, with one more chance at a win.

Source = http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2017/10/30/rossi-in-the-dry-we-could-have-been-competitive/245097

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Jose Mourinho was surprised Man Utd were offered Nemanja Matic

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he was surprised when he received a call from Nemanja Matic's agent offering him the chance to buy the player during the summer transfer window.

Matic has been one of United's standout players since joining from Chelsea for £40m in July. The midfielder has played every minute in the Premier League this season.

The move raised many eyebrows at the time and it seems none more so than with Jose himself.

"I was surprised when [Matic's] agent called me to say 'do you want him?' " Mourinho told Sky Sports News.

"I was surprised, but he's an agent I know well. Normally he's very direct and objective, he doesn't waste time, he doesn't try to get people to be interested in his players to improve their situation at their club.

"Normally he's very straightforward, so when he told me 'you can have him if you want', of course I want."

Matic will be back at Stamford Bridge for the first time this weekend when Chelsea host Manchester United on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.

He'll be one of three former blues to make the trip alongside the manager and Juan Mata, but Mourinho is playing down the significance of their return.

"I think it's something normal," said Mourinho

"I promise you I go to Stamford Bridge the way I go to the Emirates, the way I go to any big match. It's a big match because of the opponents, not because it's a team where I was the manager.

"Maybe the first time I went back to Stamford Bridge in 2009 with Inter, then in 2016 last season after the second spell with Chelsea, ok.

"But then it becomes something normal. I think it's a big game because it's a big game not because I've been at Chelsea or Matic or Mata. It's just because Chelsea are Champions and Manchester United are Manchester United."

Mourinho's men go into Sunday's game second in the table, five points behind leaders Manchester City and four ahead of Chelsea in fourth, and Mourinho thinks his former employers are very much in contention for the title.

"Chelsea are the champions and one of the top teams in the country and I consider them and they consider themselves too, a big contender for the title.

"I think six (teams are in the race) because Everton, in spite of their huge investment, didn't manage to follow the group.

"I think in the table now you can already feel the four or five are there. If Liverpool are a couple of points behind I'm pretty sure in a couple of weeks they'll be close to us too."

You can see Chelsea v Manchester United LIVE on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event this Sunday from 4.15pm

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Dereck Chisora is a complex man who throws tables but also enjoys fine art, says trainer Don Charles

Chisora resumes his eventful ring career this Saturday night as he challenges Agit Kabayel for the European heavyweight title in Monaco, live on Sky Sports. The darker side of 'Del Boy' is documented in a long list of controversial incidents but Charles has tried to supply a calming influence amid the mayhem, and offers his own insight into the fighter he calls his 'first child'.

My goodness where do I start? Basically the trick I've learned from the greats - I've taken it out of football and put it in into boxing. Sir Alex Ferguson, I've taken extracts of his skills, how to manage these crazy individuals.

Don't kill that fire in them. Recognise it and nurture it. If you take that out of them, you lose their personality as an athlete. Leave that wildness that's in there and try and mould it in a way to allow him to perform.

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Deontay Wilder insists he, not Anthony Joshua, is the baddest heavyweight on the planet

Wilder (38-0-37KO) will take on Stiverne (25-2-1-21KO) - live on Sky Sports from Brooklyn's Barclays Centre in the early hours of Sunday morning - for the second time in his career, after claiming a unanimous decision victory over the Haiti-born fighter in January 2015.

A win would keep Wilder on course for a blockbuster bout with IBF and WBA Super champion Joshua in 2018 and a chance to prove he is the world's premier heavyweight.

"It's been a long road for me. I've had my ups and my downs. The ups I've celebrated, but the downs have hurt the most. It's all led me to here," Wilder said at the pre-fight press conference.

"All I ever wanted to do is prove to the world that I am the best. I am the baddest. I hit the hardest. I am the most feared. My record speaks for itself.

"This will be an electrifying fight. That belt isn't going anywhere. I will unify the division.

"I will be the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world."

Stiverne is the only one of the 38 opponents Wilder has faced who has been able to withstand his devastating knockout power.

But the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native insists the judges' scorecards will not be required this time around.

"Stiverne was the only man to survive the 'Alabama Slammer' and avoid a knockout," Wilder said.

"When I knock him out, then nobody will be able to say they made it through against me. He was nothing but a lot of lumps and excuses after the first fight.

"There's nothing different that he can bring to the table. He brought everything he could bring the first time. He brought all his tricks - all his power.

"There's nothing he's going to be able to do this time. The only thing he's going to be able to do is pick his spot on the ground where he's going to lay at."

Stiverne insists he is much improved from their first fight and is confident he can not only last the distance once against 'The Bronze Bomber' but also derail his dreams of becoming the undisputed heavyweight king.

"Deontay Wilder has been trying to duck me. He's been giving a lot of excuses about my career. He should be happy if I've been inactive," Stiverne said.

"He should be jumping in the air. Everyone knows that means he's scared. He knows what time it is.

"He already gave me his best. I had nothing last fight. But now I'm a very dangerous man. Everyone here knows what time it is."

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